Adrian Peterson was not the star of Sunday's game. He wasn't the hero.

He did not catch the game-saving pass. (Bernard Berrian did.) He did not kick the game-winning field goal. (Robbie Gould did.)

He didn't run a kick back 75 yards or more for a touchdown. (Devin Hester did — twice.)

He didn't rush for 200 yards or more, didn't bust all kinds of amazing moves like The Other Adrian Peterson up in Minnesota.

But sometimes a guy, through the sheer force of willpower and strength, can carry a football team on his back.

Adrian Peterson inspired the Bears that way. Teammates saddled him up at Soldier Field and rode him to a 37-34, overtime victory over the Broncos.

There were 56 1/2 minutes remaining and the Bears were behind by a couple of touchdowns. Their primary running back, Cedric Benson, was hurt and no longer in the game.

If they couldn't score a touchdown after Charles Tillman blocked a Broncos punt, well, then the Bears would go home with their tails between their legs and with their fourth home-field defeat in a row.

Three plays after the block, from the 4, Rex Grossman took the snap from Olin Kreutz, turned and handed off to Peterson.

Who promptly got stopped cold at the line of scrimmage.

No, that's wrong. He didn't stop. His legs kept churning. His hips kept thrusting. The 28-year-old from Georgia Southern is only 5-feet-10 (if that) and a buff 210 pounds, but he continued to go forward while being hit by one Bronco, then another, then more.

Duly inspired, the Bears' offensive line kept plowing forward as well. Left tackle John Tait put all 312 of his pounds to the task. So did left guard Terrence Metcalf. So did right guard Roberto Garza. So did the center, Kreutz.

"I think he was dragging us," Garza said.

"I didn't want to be left out," Metcalf added. "I had to pull my load."

Peterson was practically invisible to the crowd. He was somewhere in the pile.

"He won't quit," Grossman said. "He can drive the pile."

All of a sudden, the ball was at the 3, then the 2, then the 1, then in the end zone. You expected the Broncos to spread their arms in disbelief or to ask the officials when exactly a player's forward motion is stopped.

Metcalf said: "I'm watching Tait and Garza and them just keep going. The guys on our line squat around 1,600 pounds. They can do some heavy lifting."

Rockies are on pace to lose 93 games this seasonThe Rockies lost three of four in St. Louis and are on pace to lose 93 games as they come home for a three-game series with Seattle before going back on the road again to face Washington.